Validation of automated forms processing - A comparison of Teleform (TM) with manual data entry

We have used the computer program Teleform(TM) for automated forms processi ng (AFP) and have compared error rates, time consumption, and expenses with those of single or double manual data entry. For choice fields the error r ate for AFP was very low and comparable to double manual data entry, while for numeric recognition the error rate was higher than for both single and double manual data entry. AFP reduced processing time, but we found that a very large number of forms need to be processed in order to recover the ini tial investment. A considerable amount of time and computer expertise was r equired for implementation of AFP. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All right s reserved.